FREN20012-FREN30014: French Travel Writing

2 x Quizzes (5% each = 10%), 4 x Blog posts (5% each = 20%), 1 x Devoir sur table (20%), 1 x Dissertation (50%).

N.B. French Travel Writing is offered once every two years.

The subject was enjoyable and well-structured, and the subject outline clearly indicated the due dates for all assessment tasks, as well as the topic(s) to be covered in each lecture/tutorial. The workload was very manageable, especially considering that the subject only runs for ten weeks. Given that one of the texts studied was published in 2013, it would seem possible that the texts might change in 2016. The texts were Le Tour du monde en quatre-vingts jours (Jules Verne), Tintin au Congo and Tintin au Tibet (Hergé), and La nostalgie heureuse (Amélie Nothomb).

The quizzes were designed to test the content of the lectures and the texts. They were short are pertained to the overarching concerns of the lectures, as well as the narratives, characters, and concerns of the individual texts.

The blog posts addressed some of the concerns in the lectures, but were more organic in the sense that you could approach each post as you saw fit. For example, "La carte postale" was one topic in which you were required to design a post card (or choose a picture) and then detail its significance and context, as well as pen a message in accordance with the context.

Importantly, the devoir sur table and dissertation must be written using different texts. We were given the prompts for the dissertation in the first week of the semester, so choosing separate topics/texts is made a little easier. The devoir sur table was open book and required a thorough understanding of the texts (but technically only one text) and an understanding of the lecture material. It was presented as a series of prompts.

Perhaps the best part of this subject was the dissertation, as you could theoretically select any topic to write about, even if it was not covered in the course proper (but approval is a must). Irrespective of the topic chosen, your essay plan must be approved before you can commence writing. I chose to write about a text that was not taught. I presume that it was more difficult to construct an essay about a topic that was somewhat removed from the lecture content, so I would advise sticking to the prescribed texts.

Jackie made the lectures and tutorials genuinely interesting and engaging, and it was a good "break" from my science subjects.

Yes, with screen capture.

Jackie Dutton

Not applicable.

4.5 out of 5

Not applicable; some readings were made available on the LMS.

1 x 1.5 hour lecture per week, 1 x 1.5 hour tutorial per week (for 10 weeks).

2014, Semester 1.

H2A